Univ., Diss.--Göttingen, 2004.

Thesis (doctoral)--Deutsche Hochschule für Verwaltungswissenschaften, Speyer, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1976. / Also availalbe in microfilm.

The central aim of this study is to examine processes of identity formation among white, working-class youths in a marginalized area located on the outskirts of South London. It is primarily based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork but also on analyses of web sites, newspapers and popular culture. The study contributes to research on ‘chavs’, and on youth (sub)cultures and social class. Identity is conceived as constructed through the dialectical interplay between ‘external’ processes of social categorization and ‘internal’ processes of identification and boundary work. The context of the study is the recent moral panic in Britain over ‘chavs’. In public discourse, the term chav emerged as a way of pathologizing white working-class youths adopting specific visual markers of taste. The study shows that most respondents, and the area in general, were positioned in the stigmatizing discourse on chavs, and the spaces and places that they are associated with. When interpreting the meaning of chav, the respondents drew strong boundaries against the term, and used it to categorize others. In contrast to earlier research, the notion of chav is not related to a subcultural style adopted by socially excluded groups of youths, but primarily a form of categorization serving to pathologize important aspects of the working-class culture in the area. The findings support the contention that spatiality plays an essential role in the formation of classed identities. In light of the stigmatizing perceptions of the area, the study explores the often ambiguous ways in which the respondents negotiated their sense of belonging, community and safety. Moreover, in relation to taste and masculinity, the study demonstrates how the construction and performance of classed identifications and distinctions, and thus symbolic class hierarchies, are related to the spatial context.

Reality shows that feature people going about their presumed daily lives are not base entertainment. Internet message boards about reality programs are sites where moral work happens. Viewers write about the appearance and actions of show characters and construct moral lessons. Through naturally occurring data produced by fans of these shows, I find that viewers generally express a traditional heteronormative morality around class and gender through stating moral lessons, explaining what is wrong with the characters, or through ridicule and praise.

Abstract Residents of communities that are at the edge of the rural-urban divide are likely to have many senses of place reflective of the changes occurring around them. As the place where they have resided in and identify with becomes transformed by changes in land use and social composition, these residents may be forced to either adapt or leave. Often overlooked, these individuals may feel as if the place where they have long resided is no longer their home. As the familiar routes, stores, and neighborhoods give way to new highways, big name stores, and exclusive subdivisions, their understanding of its sense of place becomes challenged. This thesis seeks to understand changing senses of place among residents in Lutz, an unincorporated community at the edge of the city of Tampa in Florida. Using a humanistic geography approach which focuses on individual perceptions, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted on questions related to community boundaries, everyday experiences of demographic and land use transformations, and possible futures of the community. Further background on the community was collected by traveling through it and analyzing media accounts which provided both historical and contemporary perspectives on its cultural landscapes. One of the main findings of this thesis is that the unincorporated nature of this community adds a unique dimension to discussions of its socio-spatial transformations since the role of boundaries in sense of place becomes complicated here. Thus, in contrast to firm lines drawn by cartographers or postal agencies, cultural boundaries have a high degree of subjectivity and are often at odds with official demarcations. Overall, this thesis highlights the value of focusing on residents of unincorporated communities in order to build more complex notions of place-based identities.

published_or_final_version / Physics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Vid palliativ vård av barn är det viktigt att besittakunskap inom både palliativ vård och barn då det är en komplex situation. Tidigare forskning har visat på svårigheter och kunskapsluckor inom den palliativa barnsjukvården. Syftet med studien var att belysa sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att vårda barn i ett palliativt skede. En litteraturstudie genomfördes, där tio artiklar granskades, bearbetades och analyserades. Artiklarnas resultat kategoriserades i fyra grupper: erfarenhet av stöd och relation, erfarenhet av vårdorganisation, erfarenhet av den professionella rollen samt erfarenhet av förändring utav behandling. Sjuksköterskorna upplevde att stöd var centralt vid palliativ vård av barn. De tar upp att både stödet från organisationen, mellan kollegor samt stödet till familjen var avgörande för god palliativ vård. Relationen var även central i all palliativ vård av barn då hela familjen var i fokus. I denna nära relation upplevde sjuksköterskorna att det var svårt att behålla de professionella gränserna. Palliativ vård av barn är ett nytt forskningsområde. I framtiden bör forskningen fokusera på att undersöka mer specifika förhållanden som till exempel stöd. En annan aspekt är att organisationen ger sjuksköterskorna möjlighet att ta till sig den forskning som finns inom området för att förbättra vården. Förbättrad utbildning och möjlighet till vidareutbildning inom palliativ vård av barn för sjuksköterskorna är av stor vikt. / In palliative care of children it is important to have knowledge of both palliative care and children as it is a complex situation. Previous research has shown difficulties and knowledge gaps in the pediatric palliative care. The aim of the study was to illustrate nurses’ experiences of caring for children in the end-of-life. A literature study was conducted, where ten articles were reviewed, processed and analyzed. The results of the articles were categorized into four groups: experience of support and relationship, experience of the care organization, experience of the professional role and experience of change in treatment. The nurses experienced that support had a central role in pediatric palliative care. They address the support from the organization, between colleagues as well as the support to the child’s family as significant for good palliative care. The relationship was central in all pediatric palliative care as the whole family was involved. In this close relationship the nurses had difficulties maintaining the professional boundaries. Pediatric palliative care is a new research field. In the future research should focus on specific conditions such as support. Another aspect is that the organization gives nurses the opportunity to take part of this research to improve the care. Improved education and the possibility to get education in palliative care of children for the nurses are of great importance.

My dissertation is an inquiry into issues of home and belonging. For many people, the struggle to create a home in a "new" country, and the oscillation between a past "there" and present "here" have become ways of existence. Displacement challenges and raises questions regarding one's roots, affiliations, loyalty and belonging. The yearning for a place such as home becomes a site of inquiry for communities of displaced people. Destined to live between languages, cultures and national affiliations, im/migrants construct their homes in the particular place of "border." Acknowledging Home(s) and Belonging(s): Border Writing is "homeward" journeying through the discursive landscapes of nation, ethnicity, diaspora, and "race." It explores how border interrupts/initiates a discourse of home. I am an im/migrant researcher. The word "migrant" connotes impermanence, detachment and instability. From this positionality I introduce a slash into the word "immigrant" to transform these connotations into a permanence of migration. As autoethnographic and conversational inquiry, I explore im/migrant experiences from the position of "I," rather than "We." However, "I" is not a position of isolated individual(istic) exclusiveness, but a position of the personal articulation through the relationships with/in community. My research includes conversations with: theorists, colleagues from different disciplinary backgrounds, members of the "ethnic" communities to which I belong, and my daughter. I construct these conversations as borderzone arriculations where a "third space" emerges. The word dissertation stems etymologically from Greek dialegesthai, to converse, to dialogue; whereby dia- means "one with another," and legesthai means "to tell, talk." My dissertation endeavors to recognize - to know again, to know anew these deep layers of border as dialogue and conversation. As an im/migrant inquiry, my dissertation intends to create a different, mother knowing and culture of scholarship that broaden and deepen the space of academic researching/writing.

Recent studies of fcc metals with dense twins (~10 nm spacing) have revealed impressive mechanical properties, along with improved ductility and electrical conductivity in comparison to nanocrystalline metals with similar feature sizes. Many important fcc metals could benefit from these “nanotwinned” microstructures, however, not all fcc metals readily form such twins. The tendency of fcc metals to form twin boundaries is related to the twin boundary energy; those with low twin boundary energy, such as silver (Ag), easily form twins. Increasing twin boundary energy interferes with twin formation, to the point that in metals with high twin boundary energy, like aluminum (Al), twins are quite rare. This thesis focuses on the synthesis of nanotwinned Ag and Al via physical vapor deposition. Nanotwinned Ag is readily fabricated, however, a template approach had to be developed to induce twins in Al. The microstructures and their relationships to observed mechanical properties are also discussed. Grain boundaries interfere with dislocation transmission by posing a slip system discontinuity between grains. Twin boundaries are a special class of grain boundaries in which the grains on either side of the boundary are related by mirror symmetry. Twin boundaries inhibit dislocation transmission, providing strength in the same manner as grain boundaries. However, their symmetrical structure reduces the free volume and grain boundary energy. Accordingly, coherent twin boundaries are often more energetically stable than grain boundaries, and their coherency allows plasticity mechanisms to remain active under conditions where such mechanisms may be inhibited at grain boundaries. Hence, twin boundaries may provide a metal with unique combinations of high strength and good ductility, conductivity, and thermal stability.